Iranian Photojournalist Who Advocates For Women’s Rights Imprisoned

Press photographer Maryam Majd has been detained in Iran’s Evin Prison, says a group of 32 Iranian photographers who have written and signed a petition demanding her release.

The petition says that, “Although the arrest of Maryam Majd has not been confirmed by the Iranian government’s official sources, the repeated illegal actions of the state-run media have caused serious concern about this young photographer’s current condition.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, Majd was preparing to leave Tehran to shoot the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament when she disappeared without notice on June 16. Majd is one of the few Iranian photographers to document female sports and has long campaigned for the government to allow Iranian women to attend soccer matches.

The petition demands “that Maryam Majd is released unconditionally from prison,” and “that [she] is able to resume work in her profession.”

The photographers also urged the Iranian Photojournalist’s Association to “act according to its responsibilities to its members” and investigate the situation, as well as “to inform photojournalists about the consequences of their work.”

According to a post on a “Free Maryam Majd” Facebook page with close to 2,000 followers, Majd’s family has been to see her at Evin Prison and reports that “her physical condition is OK,” and that “She expressed her glumness for home and her friends and family.”

The International Press Institute reports that two other Iranian female journalists, Zahra Yazdani and documentarian Mahnaz Mohammadi, were arrested shortly after Majd.

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